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Pick: Not-lame cover bands

Since long before DJs started infusing their sets with Bon Jovi and that stupid Nelly song (which one, you ask?), cover bands have been wreaking havoc on Las Vegas stages, casino booking agents banking on the notion that their typical patron only wants to hear the same 100 songs throughout their lifetime.

However, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t intrigued by two curious tribute-band bookings this week. The shows take place in downtown venues that predominantly feature original bands. And the acts being covered have considerable cool cachet — and aren’t likely to perform in Las Vegas themselves anytime soon.

First Friday gets another dance party in the form of One More Time, a duo paying tribute to, you guessed it, Daft Punk. But it doesn’t just pound out an iTunes playlist of the popular French house duo’s anthems. It comes armed with a mini-pyramid covered with video walls, recreating the experience of Daft Punk’s legendary Alive 2007 tour (which touched down at the final Vegoose) and playing mostly remixes done by itself and fans. And yes, the twosome comes dressed in full electro-luminescent, robot-rock drag.

Following that multimedia extravaganza is the complete opposite experience: A band covering the famously lo-fi, no-frills Ohio rock band Guided By Voices. Tigerbomb is a Northern California act very partial to the musical offerings of Robert Pollard, the principal member of GBV and side project Boston Spaceships, and a prolific singer-songwriter on his own. Does Tigerbomb do GBV justice? We dunno. There’s no evidence of its performance prowess online, but trust this: Even if Tigerbomb gets sloppy and degenerates into a shambolic mess, it’ll still be paying proper tribute to a group of musical swillers that puts away more beer than the entire attendance at a Bengals game.